Light-to-Moderate Wine Consumption Tied to Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk

THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Light-to-moderate consumption of wine, measured through an objective urinary biomarker, is associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in an older Mediterranean population, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in the European Heart Journal. 

Inés Domínguez-López, from the University of Barcelona in Spain, and colleagues evaluated the association between urinary tartaric acid, an objective biomarker of wine consumption, and the rate of a composite clinical CVD event. The analysis included 1,232 participants (685 incident cases of CVD and a random subcohort of 625 participants, including 78 overlapping cases).

The researchers found that tartaric acid was correlated with self-reported wine consumption at baseline (r = 0.46). To better assess risk patterns, five categories of post hoc urinary tartaric acid excretion were analyzed. Concentrations of 3 to 12 and 12 to 35 μg/mL (about three to 12 and 12 to 35 glasses/month of wine) were associated with lower CVD risk (hazard ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.62 [0.38 to 1.00; P = 0.050] and 0.50 [0.27 to 0.95; P = 0.035], respectively). Associations were less significant when analyzing self-reported wine consumption and CVD risk.

“This study examines the importance of moderate wine consumption within a healthy dietary pattern, such as the Mediterranean diet,” lead author Ramon Estruch, M.D., Ph.D., also from the University of Barcelona, said in a statement. “Until now, we believed that 20 percent of the effects of the Mediterranean diet could be attributed to moderate wine consumption; however, in light of these results, the effect may be even greater.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and culinary industries.

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